Gas-engine



(No Model.)

J. D. RUSS. GAS ENGINE.

110.586,321. Patented July 13,1897.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JOHN D. RUSS, OF RAHVAY, NEI/V JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO MAXWELL VYETH it CO., OF BROOKLYN,

` NET YORK.

GAYS-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 586,321, dated July13, 1897.

Application led January 29, 1896. Serial No. 577,224` (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN D. RUSS, a resident of Rahway, in the county ofUnion and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Gas-Engines; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to gas-engines.

The perfect gas-engine cycle consists of four distinct operations--viz.,intake of fresh charge, compression, explosion, and exhaust. It has beenthe aim of all designers of these engines to embody these four cycles inas few strokes of the piston as possible, as only one of the aboveoperations is actually power-producing. The four-cycle enginesemployfour strokes to accomplish this perfect cycle,while the so-calledtwo-cycle engines have utilized crank-cases, accessory cylinders, vandpumps, or employ a differential piston to gain their end; but in allthese engines the intricate mechanism has prevented high speed, as wellas caused difficulty in operation and management.

The object of my invention, therefore, is by the use of one plaincylinder without acessory contrivances to accomplish in one revolutionthe four operations of this perfect cycle.

My invention comprises, generally stated, a cylinder closed at both endsand having a piston therein, an automatic valve-controlled port leadingto a space behind or below the piston and between said part of thepiston and lower head or back of cylinder, a passage with opencommunication to and leading from before-mentioned space behind or belowthe piston through an automatically valve-controlled port into head ofcylinder, whereby the explosive mixture is rst admitted into the lowerportion of cylinder, and then forced by the action of the piston intothe upper part of the cylinder, where it rst expands, cleaning cylinderof the old gases, and where it is afterward compressed and exploded.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willdescribe the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- 5o Y Figure l is a sectional elevation of my improved engine.Fig. 2 is a like section of a part of the engine, showing the pistonatthe upper end of its stroke. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3, Fig.l.

Like letters indicate like parts in each of the figures.

I have illustrated my invention as applied to the upright or verticalform of engine, although it is apparent that it is equally applicable tothe horizontal type. n

The base o has bolted thereto the standard or open column b, whichsupports the cylinder c. The cylinder c is surrounded by thewater-jacket cl,which is shown clearly in Fig. 3. The cylinder c isclosed at its upper and lower ends by the cylinder-heads c2 c3. Withinthe cylinder c is the piston e, which can be either hollow or solid. Thepiston e,when in its lowest position, is at the bottom of the cylinderc, close to the cylinder-head c3, but at its highest position thereremains a space between the upper cylinder-head c2 and the upper end ofthe piston for the compression of the explosive mixture. I The cubiccontents of the upper portion of the cylinder when the piston e is atits lowest dead-point is larger than the cubic contents of lower portionof cylinder when the piston is at its highest dead-point-that is, thespace between the upper head c2 of the cylinder and top of piston, whensaid piston is at the lowest deadpoint, is greater than space betweenthe lower head c3 of the cylinder andthe bottom of said piston when saidpiston is at its highest dead- I point. This is due to the clearancejust mentioned in the upper portion of the cylininder for the compressedexplosive mixture. The piston-rod f passes down through a suitablestuffing-box g in the standard b, said piston-rod being connected to thecross-head h, moving in suitable guides il.

Formed within the walls of the cylinder' c is the pipe or passage k,said'passage communicating by means of the port l withthe lower end ofthe piston-chamber c of the cylinder c. The upper end of the passage 7acommunicates with the by-passage m, leading into the upper end of thepiston-chamber c. A check-valve n engages with the seat n at the upperend of the passage lo, the stem of said IOO valve moving in the recessformed in the plug n2. The plug n2 is threaded and engages with thethreaded openings in the cylinder c.

The exhaust-port 0 leadsffrom the pistonchamber c' and is uncovered bythe piston when part way on its downstroke. An auxiliary port la' leadsfrom the passage 7c into the iston-chamber c said ort beino' uncovered.P i s "spark or by a hot tube or other igniting means.

l have illustrated a means for exploding by means of electricity. Therod p passes down through a suitable opening in the Ycylinderhead c2,and attached to thelower end of said rod is a piece of fiat steel p2,bent as shown. Another piece of iiat steel p3 is attached to the top ofthe piston. When the piston reaches its highest dead -point, these twopieces of steel meet, establishing the current, and when they start toseparate a spark is formed,which explodes the charge. The wires p areconnected up to a suitable battery.

The pipe q conveys the explosive mixture to the cylinder, and at theupper end of said pipe is the check-valve r, which is operated by theaction of the piston7 as will be fully hereinafter set forth. The pipe qis in communication with the air-pipe 8 and gas-pipe t. y The valve tcontrols the gas-supply to the pipe q, and this valve is connected upwith the ball-governor u, which regulates the speed of the engine byopening and closing the gasinlet. By having a governor located toregulate the supply before it enters the cylinder said governorregulates the fresh mixture before it enters the engine. lVhen thegas-inlet is completely closed, nothing but air passes through thecylinder, and consequently a great saving in gas is obtained.

The fly-wheel v is mounted on the shaft fw, and the pitman ce isconnected up to a suitable crank.

The operation of my improved engine is as follows z lVith the piston inthe position shown in Fig. l the explosive mixture admitted through theport Z by lthe previous upstroke of the piston has been forced upthrough the passage 7a, the check-valve n being un seated, into thespace above said piston. The admission of the mixture above the pistonacts to expel the foul gases caused by the previous explosion throughthe exhaust-port o. The auxiliary port 7c admits a further quantity ofthe explosive mixture as said piston uncovers said port in its descent;but, however, before the fresh mixture has opportunity to escape throughthe exhaust-port the piston begins to ascend and closes saidexhaust-port. As said piston continues to ascend the automaticcheck-valve r in the pipe q is raised by the suction caused by theascent of said piston.

This permits a fresh charge of the explosive mixture to enter by theport Z the lower end of the cylinder below the piston. The ascent of thelpiston compresses the explosive mixture in the upper end of thecylinder above the piston, the check-valve n being held in its seat bythe pressure of the explosive mixture upon it. By the employment of thepas sage k, communicating at its upper endwith the space above thepiston and controlled at alone through an inlet, such as the auxiliaryyport 7a in the side of the cylinder, said charge would sometimes come incontact with partthe old charge before it is dead and reaches theexhaust and would be prematurely exploded; but by letting in the newcharge first at the upper end of the cylinder through a valve which isreleased as soon as the piston uncovers the exhaust-port it drives theold charge straight down toward the exhaustport, so tha-t when, theauxiliary inlet-port k is uncovered, through which the. main portion ofthe incoming charge rushes, the old charge is entirely dead and mostlyexhausted.

I f the inlet-port at the upper end of the' cy1 inder was aloneemployed, though there would vbe no back-firing, it would take longerfor the charge to enter, said inlet-port bein somewhat removed from thecompression o the mixture caused by the descent of the piston. Thus itwill be seen that by the eombination of the two inlet-ports all loss ofpower from back-firin g is avoided and higher speed is obtained from therapidity with which the fresh charges can be taken into` the explodingportion of the cylinder.

lVhen the piston has reached the position v u l x15 v shown in Fig. 2,an electric spark ignites the gases, whereby the piston descends and thepower is produced. The descent of the piston seats the valve r, and thefresh explosive mixture which was below the piston is conV pressed anddriven up through the passage It` to the upper end of the cylinder tovbeagain f los` compressed and exploded in the manner hereinbefore setforth. By having the lower end of the cylinder closed and leaving noclear ance between the lower end of the piston and the lowercylinder-head the compression from the downstroke is powerful anduniform and compresses directly on the valve at the enf trance to theupper Vor exploding portion of the cylinder. This insures prompt andimmediate action. I thus provide a passage of such cubic contents as tohold the fresh mixture when compressed by the downward stroke of thepiston to a desired pressure. This pressure carries the fresh chargeinto the upper end of cylinder through valve ny and port 7c at theproper time, leaving the passage 7c always full of fresh mixture atatmospheric pressure, the piston being at lowest dead-point. The cubiccontents displaced on descent of piston expands in the upper portion ofthe cylinder and obtains the economy claimed.

The valves are opened and closed automatically, so that no power isrequired to operate same and there is no friction to be overcome. Theaction of the piston itself causes the admission and discharge of thegases.

As there is an explosion every revolution, and as the ignition can onlytake place when the piston on reaching the upperor dead point commencesto release the compressed charge there is no danger of prematureexplosion or back-firing.

In my improved engine the; saine upstroke both sucks in the freshmixture to the lower portion of the cylinder and compresses the freshcharge already in the upper part of the cylinder to the point ofignition, 'while the saine downstroke carries the power of explosion andalso exhausts the foul gases by admitting the fresh charge underpressure. In this manner the perfect cycle is obtained in one revolutionand continues independently, while the simplicity of construction makesit possible to obtain the high speed of steamengines. It may also benoted that the piston is cushioned at each en d of its stroke, which,with an explosion every revolution, gives steadiness of motion andremoves all annoyance due to jarring.

I do not limit myself to the exact const-ruction set forth, but claimsuch equivalent constructions as will give like results.

IVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l. In gas and like engines, the combination of a cylinder closed at bothends, a piston therein, said cylinder having a port communicating withthe space below the piston and above the lower head of said cylinder,apassage leading therefrom to the space above said piston when saidpiston is at its highest point, and a valve at the upper end of saidpassage, substantially as set forth.

2. In gas and like engines, the combination of a cylinder closed at bothends, a piston therein, said cylinder having an automaticallyvalve-controlled port communicating with the space below the piston andabove the lower head of said cylinder, a passage leading therefrom tol[he space above said piston when said piston is at its highest point,

and a check-valve at the upper end of said passage, substantially as setforth.

3. In gas and like engines, the combination of a cylinder closed at bothends, a piston therein, said cylinder having a port communicating withthe space below the piston and above the lower head of said cylinder, apassage leading therefrom to the space above said piston when saidpiston is at its highest point, a check-valve at the upper end of saidpassage and an exhaust-port opened and closed by said piston itself,substantially as set forth.

4. In gas and like engines, the combination of a cylinder closed at bothends, a piston therein, said cylinder having a port communicating withthe space below said piston and above the lower head of said cylinder,and a valve-controlled passage leading therefrom to the space above saidpiston, the cubic contents of the upper portion of said cylinder whenthe piston is at its lowest dead-point being larger than the cubiccontents of lower portion of said cylinder when piston is at highestdead-point, substantially as set forth.

5. In gas and like engines, the combination of a cylinder closed at bothends, a piston therein, said cylinder having a port communicating withthe space below the piston and above the lower head of said cylinder,apassage leading from said port to the space above said piston when saidpiston is at its highest point, a valve controlling said passage, and anauxiliary port between said valve and said port leading from saidpassage to the pistonchamber and controlled by said piston,substantially as set forth.

6. In gas and like engines, the combination of a cylinder closed at bothends, a piston therein, said cylinder having a port communicating withthe space below the piston and above the lower head of said cylinder,apassage leading from said port to the space above said piston when saidpiston is at its highest point, a valve controlling said passage, anauxiliary port between said valve and said first-mentioned port leadingfrom said passage to the piston-chamber, and an exhaustport just abovesaid auxiliary port, both said exhaust-port and auxiliary port beingcontrolled by said piston, substantially as Set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said JOHN D. RUSS, have hereunto set myhand.

JOHN D. RUSS. lVitnesses:

ANDREW J. HALIDAY, CHAs. H. LAMBERT.

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